Community conversations: Londoners to consider housing affordability on election day

As elsewhere in Ontario, housing — the ability to own a home or even afford rent — is an essential election issue with voters in London. As part of our community conversations series to understand what matters most to you in this provincial election, CBC London went to The Bostwick Community Centre on Southdale Road, in the city's southwest to talk about the problems and policies. 

Ritu and Sunil Sangwan own a home in London, and they're hoping their 22-year-old son will be able to one day as well. But with housing prices going up and salaries remaining steady, they're worried that their kids won't be as lucky as they are. 

"The prices are very high, and it is going out of reach of people, so people who had already planned to buy houses are now going back to renting," said Ritu Sangwan, who has lived in London for two years. 

"We are definitely worried for our kids. The prices of homes are an issue," Ritu Sangwan said.

"The rate of interest keeps going up, there are many taxes, so there is no saving at all. If we are planning to buy a house for our kids in the future, I don't think that's possible." 

Every client he speaks to talks about the volatility of property prices, said Sunil Sangwan. "It's very difficult to buy a property, especially for newcomers, because they don't have money for down payments. It's tough for them.

"If the government wanted to do something about it, they could, because the prices should be stable so that people can easily afford to buy houses or property. People are getting scared to buy houses now because there is no stability in the price: they go up, they go down. The government has to bring in a higher rate of interest so the prices can be stable." 

With a daughter who is 22-years-old and a son in his late teens, teacher Jack Dundas wonders whether his kids will be able to afford a house for themselves when they want to move out. 

"My wife and I were fortunate enough to afford a house way back when, but now it's a concern, for sure," said Dundas, who lives in Lambeth and said he could not afford the home he owns now if he were a first-time buyer. 

"I think the price and values of homes in our neighbourhood have gone up four times from what we paid for it, so I definitely wouldn't be able to afford the house we're in now," he said. 

"I think we'll have to help our kids out at some point, or they'll have to stay with us for a lot longer." 

Tears fill Diane Ouderkirk's eyes as she talks about her daughter, who just gave birth to her second child. The young woman and her partner live with the kids in Belleville, and pay $2,000 a month in rent. 

"They cannot afford to buy a house. It's crazy. It's nuts," said Ouderkirk, who is retired and can't afford to help her daughter buy a house, though she has offered to host the family of four for the two years it would take to save for a down payment. 

"We need to reduce the amount of rent people are paying, and the price of housing has to change. No one can afford to buy a house," Ouderkirk said. "If you're looking at a house that's $500,000, which is the norm now, you're looking at a $50,000 deposit. Who has that?"